D. Hartley

A portrait for a writer.

Lacerations: Front Cover

Mr. Hartley has given me the task of designing the cover to his first story: Lacerations.  After having read the first draft of a few chapters this is the design I have come up with.  he wanted the front cover to be a shot of the character and her mood.

I think ditching the rather comic-book make-up was a great move as it makes her much more believable.  I wanted her to be bare as it reflects her life story through the scars and tattoos on her body.  She needed to look plain, depressed, unhinged and most importantly very dangerous, without needed to show weapons.  These two factors combined take the typical exploitation of a pin-up and turn it into something with much more character.  

The blood reflects her violent life, whilst the colour represents the cost of such a lifestyle.  Overall I am pretty pleased with it and I feel that it is one of my more detailed and refined works.

Marisa Brook, Kiru Comics and Dex Hartley

I am very lucky to know so many creative and talented individuals.  But what is even better than knowing these individuals is collaborating with them.  Today I shall announce three different partnerships that I have been working on for a while now since the MCM in May.

Preview of a section of the work
I have done for Marisa Brook.

The first is my work with Marisa Brook.  Due to Marisa's amazing way with words and my ability to render dark artwork, we have teamed up and are well on the way to finishing our first project together.  Details to follow soon but for now it is all very hush hush...

The second announcement is that I have become a team member of Kiru Comics, lending both my writing and drawing skills to the team.  Myself and Kiru Comics founder Hameed Catel have been speaking since just before his first kickstarter, Champion of Dema.  As one of the most lively and active guys in the indie comic scene I truly am pleased to be working with him and the rest of the gang.

Black Paw from the novel Lacerations

The final announcement is that I am working with budding novelist Dex Hartley, illustrating covers and working on story ideas for his entry onto the writing scene. 

Overall I have been very busy and this is why my visual output on this blog has been slower than normal.  However in the coming months I shall hopefully have a lot to show for my efforts.  Time will tell.